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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. stock — goods
  3. net — for catching
  4. squash — to crush
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. firm — a company
  8. field — farmland
  9. stock — shares
  10. firm — decided
  11. squash — the sport
  12. pit — a hole
  13. cap — a hat
  14. field — for sport
  15. field — a subject
  16. cap — a lid
  17. net — in sport
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. pit — in a race
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. net — after costs
  22. cap — of ice
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. stock — a soup base

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com